Commission Raises Alarm Over Rising Cases of Rape

Professor Ben Angwe, the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), has called on Nigerians to report rape cases to the appropriate authorities to ensure speedy prosecution of culprits.
Angwe told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday that the rising wave of rape in the country was alarming.
According to him, the rise in the prevalence of rape is because victims are not prepared to give evidence of such incidences for fear of stigmatisation.
Angwe noted that law enforcement agencies found it difficult to prosecute rapists because there were no evidences against them.
“The commission discovered that many Nigerian women are not even prepared to report the cases of rape on the grounds that, that increases the stigmatisation and their isolation in the society, but what the commission has done is to put in place a counselling centre that is currently counselling women who have been raped and to make them come out to report cases of rape and stand out to ensure that those who are involved are prosecuted.
“They can come forward and give evidence to that effect in the court. Many people who are involved in the cases of rape have been escaping liability and punishment on the grounds that most of the women concerned are not prepared to come forward to give evidence. Once there is no evidence, the court cannot convict the offenders.”
Angwe blamed parents for settling rape cases out of court rather than ensuring that culprits were brought to book, saying it was responsible for the rising cases of rape.
“You find out that in most cases when such matters are reported to the police, the parents are always out to settle the matter so as not to expose the victim to public knowledge. We have just carried out a research on gender-based violence and we also discovered that many cases of rape or sexual abuse meted out to women or young ladies are compromised at the level of investigation.
“This is done with the consent of the parents or relations of the victims and the sole reason why they do so is to avoid this issue of social stigmatisation or isolation. It is just very unfortunate that a great percentage of people who are involved in such acts escape punishment because the victims are not willing to ensure that these people are prosecuted.”
Angwe said there were also reported cases of maltreatment by men and abandonment of parental care for only women.
He pointed out that the commission had concluded plans to come up with the requisite strategies that would end the molestation of women in the country.
He also said that a department in charge of women’s rights had been established to handle cases of discrimination against women.